Experience honed in the North Sea oil and gas industry is consistently called upon across the wider energy sector, in recognition of the standards set and lessons learned over the course of several decades.
And so, as the global focus on LNG as a transition fuel continues to grow, it’s logical for the industry to call upon the experience already built up in upstream oil and gas, not least when it comes to hazardous area inspections.
So what’s the current LNG landscape and why does it matter to Arnlea?
We know that countries including Qatar, Mozambique and Angola are continuing to expand their LNG export capacity, while projects in Namibia, Senegal and Mauritania are now starting to bring in serious levels of investment. Domestic supply accounts for some of this growth, but as energy transition strategies continued to be rolled out and decarbonisation targets set, demand for LNG imports from these countries is increasing across parts of Europe and Asia, leading to more terminals, storage facilities and regasification plants being built. Add to this the effect of ongoing geopolitical challenges and their impact upon energy security - and spotlight on LNG development shines even brighter.
More infrastructure means more equipment operating in hazardous areas, and that means more need for effective EX inspections. The fundamentals are the same whether it’s upstream oil and gas or LNG: making sure equipment is correctly installed, properly maintained and safe to operate in potentially explosive environments.
Arnlea’s Nexar was created to enhance safety, efficiency and accuracy in upstream EX inspection; it’s in our DNA to understands the impacts of downtime, poor maintenance or incorrect installations in safety-critical environments. And whilst we recognise that the LNG industry does have its own differences, particularly around cryogenic systems, our enhanced approach to hazardous area management is entirely transferable and has already been lauded by our upstream clients as revolutionising their approach to EX inspection.
That’s why it’s imperative that advanced EX inspection software becomes a non-negotiable across all LNG operations; particularly those that are in the earlier stages of development. Getting it right from day one, rather than relying on spreadsheets, paper reports, disconnected systems and the objective to “improve later”, is fundamental to the successful development of many countries’ LNG industry and its place as a sustainable energy option for the coming decades.
